It's a sad day in our house...

She has FIP (not to be confused with FIV).

"FIP is a viral disease of cats that can affect many systems of the body. It is a progressive disease and almost always fatal. It is found worldwide and affects not only domestic cats, but many wild ones as well.

There is no cure for FIP. A survivor of FIP is very rare".

Thank you all for your unbelievable support. You are all truly wonderful human beings. We will give Lola kisses for you all.

If you'd like to read more about it... see here.

After losing two other cats earlier this year and one last year, it's really is a sad day in our house...

Stephen's Graphic Novel.

Hi all,

So just thought I'd post a link to my website where you can now buy some framed pages from Stephen's graphic novel. All prices include shipping within the USA.

Just click "LOLA'S STORE". And all proceeds go will towards Lola's bill.

And there's an update to our eBay auctions... because we're newbies to eBay, they've limited the amount we can post. So what we have up there is all we can put up for this month.

We do have some more choice Venture Bros merchandise and artwork so please keep checking back and I'll let you know when we can upload some more items.

Thanks so much, everyone.

x Shivers

It's for Lola!

We understand that some people have asked about making a donation towards Lola's medical bills. This is extremely kind of you, so we've set up this page for any of you who would like to contribute.

Lola sends you kisses!

The update on Lola that she is now out of the hospital, after being in the Intensive Care Unit at NYC Veterinary Hospital from Friday, November 5th til Monday, November 8th. Although it had been suggested that she might have cancer, results of the biopsies from her operation have returned as negative. We are, of course, grateful for these results. However, it's clear Lola is still suffering from a mystery malady, and her doctors have narrowed it down to one of three things, the first of which is potentially extremely serious. We are still waiting for her final results.

Until then, Lola's showing great signs of recovering from her operation. She's giving us the stink eye up and down for keeping her in her kitty cone.

It's been a trying and intense month, so once again, we are extremely grateful for your support and concern!

Siobhan and Stephen DeStefano

UNBELIEVABLE VENTURE BROS ART FOR SALE!

From "storyboard guru", Stephen DeStefano's private collection comes one hell of a sequence!

This is a rare, one of a kind, storyboard sequence from season 3, The "ORB" where Brock visits Hunter Gathers, who is working as an exotic dancer after his sex change.

Stephen bumped up this sequence with 34 original Post-it drawings.

It's sexy hot, don't ya think?! Man, I just love Hunter :D

Anyway, its up now on eBay, please take a look and place a bid if you can. All funds will go towards our Lola's vet bills which are getting higher and higher by the day.

So, many many thanks if you can bid. x

That is all!

x Shivers

MORE VENTURE STORYBOARDS FOR SALE!

To continue our benefit for Lola, our kitty cat, we're offering up more Venture Bros storyboard pages from our collection (see preview above).

In this season 3 sequence, Dean Venture is being seduced by the Quymn twins while Dr Quymn seduces Dr Venture.

A total of 9, 11 x 8.5in xeroxed storyboard pages and 29 ORIGINAL, beautifully drawn Post-it notes by "storyboard guru", Stephen DeStefano!!

Link to auction can be found here!

Please bid and know that your money is going to help our Lola recover.

That is all!

x Shivers

Venture Bros art for sale for Lola

Our poor little Lola is in the hospital at the moment with what looks like pancreatic cancer :(

The fees for which are becoming enormous and we're not sure what to do other than sell what art work we own. Maybe it will generate some extra income that we badly need right now so if you are interested in some Venture Bros merch, please take a look. We'll be posting more in the days to come.

This one in particular is a Venture Bros Crew Poster that Jackson Publick/Christopher McCulloch kindly gave me upon completion of season 2. I hate to part with it but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

That is all.

x Shivers

LUCKY IN LOVE

Well, here it is folks... the hubby's new book, LUCKY IN LOVE.

And for anyone who would like to meet Stephen and George Chiffet, they'll both be at Stephen's retrospective 'Black/White' on Thursday, September 16 at 7pm, mdh Fine Arts Gallery.

Details on the flyer below.

Hope to see you there!

x Shivers

Meet our latest addition...

Ole

We found him thru Petfinder & Zani's Furry Friends in NYC.

He originally came from a house with over 25 cats which were discovered when the owner had to be admitted to hospital with dementia. From what I gather, the apartment was in pretty bad shape so its great to be able to rescue a kitty from a situation like that.

And there's so many kitties, puppies, pigs, rabbits, birds, reptiles and even barnyard animals out there to be adopted that there is absolutely no reason to buy from pet stores and especially not super pet stores. And you can find pure breeds like Ole who are literally just crying out to be adopted. Here's another we were thinking of adopting before we found Ole.

So please check out these links if you're interested in adopting or even fostering a pet...

Liberty Humane Society

Zani' Furry Friends

Pet Finder

ASPCA

Animal Rescue League

I think we really lucked out with our little fella, he's just the sweetest cat from day 1.

That is all.

x Shivers

New website...

Now up and running :)

Will be adding much more to the photography section in the days to come.

Hope you like it.

That is all!

x Shivers

Doggie Daycare

I'm in between animation jobs at the moment so I decided to do something completely different... doggie daycare. I adore these little fellas and lassies, they're just too cute at times.

That is all.

x Shivers

VENTURE BROS Animation Auction, UP NOW!!

Get your bids in, folks!

There's some really interesting Venture Bros related stuff!

That is all.

x Shivers

Original Venture Bros artwork for sale...

At bargain prices for a great cause!

Check out Tom Bayne's page for the last remaining, absolutely awesome, completely original, actually seen in the show, animation key poses and inbteweens from Venture Bros TV series.

That is all.

x Shivers

Last Day on Venture Bros...

And I steal a rather voluptuous Jackson Publick doodle from the

back of a storyboard revision note, drawn while waiting for me to return to my desk.

So I told him I was going to blog it and "BOOM!" here it is.

I'm sure he didn't think I would but I have no shame and that he definitely knows.

Now off to Ireland with me & Mr DeStefano :D

That is all.

x Shivers

BUDDY!! :D

That is all.

x Shivers

Venture Bros Season Finale

Well, its that time of year again, folks. The end of another season of Venture Bros and possibly the end of an entire show. I do hope not but that's up to the big guys, isn't it?

Anyway, I'm usually busy in the revision department but for some reason, known only God... and Jackson Publick... oh and our producer Rachel Simon and possibly the cleaning lady, I've been asked to help finish the storyboard for the season finale. Luckily I won't be storyboarding from scratch but rather storyboarding from Mr. Publick's thumbnail drawings. This is a huge bonus, let me tell you. And even so, I'll have to brush up on my storyboarding skills because as much as I adore these characters, they can be a bitch to draw sometimes.

So onto the reason for this blog. Well, it's to thank GOD, for our season 3 storyboard guru, Mr Stephen DeStefano. He left us with some beautiful characterizations to work from and not only did I use them religiously throughout season 4.2 but I shall also be relying heavily on them for the coming weeks.

As nothing like this previously existed, I pieced these together from the storyboards of season 3 and 4.1 episodes that Stephen worked on to help us in the revision department for 4.2. This is also my first draft of the character sheets and each have grown considerably since.

Now I know that every artist who has worked on this show brings life to these characters in their own special way and that is very much appreciated by all of us, believe me.

And I also know that these specific pages that I'm posting here are not the be all and end all of Venture Bros characterization but there is just something about them that I really adore.

And I also know that I'm married to the man but God dammit stop judging me and just take a look at 'em!

Jeeze!

(I especially love the Billy and Treister expression sheets).

That is all!

x Shivers

If you have 3 minutes...

This is a trailer for the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of THE ANIMALS FILM.
Shockingly relevant to today, the controversial classic film about the exploitation of animals in modern society, narrated by Academy Award Winner Julie Christie.




And a podcast from the BBC...

"It was 28 years ago that the documentary maker Victor Schonfeld produced The Animals Film about the way humans exploit other species. He returns to the subject in a two-part documentary to give a very personal view on what, if anything, has changed since then.

In the first programme he looks at the use of animals for food and turns to experts in fields such as psychology, history, language and neurology to find out why humans seem so attracted to eating meat.

Next week, he focuses on the scientific establishment's attachment to using animals, and considers the future. Might social justice for other species actually benefit humans?

Mike and the usual One Planet team are currently on a short break to prepare for the next series. But they will be back the end of January. You can keep up to date with developments at One Planet HQ by joining in the conversation on Facebook - the link's below. Or alternatively, email the team at Oneplanet@bbc.com."

That is all.

x Shivers

Venture Bros Episode 40

For all those interested,
here's another section of storyboards that I revised for episode 40, with one of my favourite characters from season 4.1, Captain Sunshine.
I really enjoyed drawing this section.



That is all!
x Shivers

Venture Bros Season 4 storyboard.

Well, now that The Venture Bros season 4.1 is off and running...
here is a sample of the latest episode's storyboard that went through our
revision process and spit out the other side.



While your here, please check out Ian Jones-Quartey's blog for
info on this scene and more, from an animation director's point of view.


That is all!
x Shivers

I GOT MARRIED!!!!

One of my favourite photos from the night.
Taken by Miguel-Martinez-Joffre.
And incredibly creepy when you look closely at it!

Lt to Rt: Me, Stephen DeStefano, the very Rev. Jackson Publick (who kindly agreed to marry us).
Thomas Bayne and, as always, the uber creepy Peedee Shindell.
LOVE YOU GUYS!!

That is all!
x Shivers (DeStefano)

The Pogues

Wow... its been quite a while since I've blogged.

So, for my latest post, I've decided to upload some photo's from a Pogues gig that happened at Roseland Ballroom back in March of this year... the 14th to be precise.

This is the first gig I've ever been too where I had an official photo pass.
This came to me through one of my best friend's, Ava Rave and the very wonderful, Louise Stacy.
Much love to you both and thank you, Louise for an amazing night that I won't soon forget!

The Pogues

Shane MacGowan

Spider Stacy

Louise (love that helmet) and myself backstage.

That is all!
x Shivers